Dorset Spring 2012 :: days 5&6

:: DAY 5 ::

Weather report ~ warmish, but grey and overcast with frequent rain showers.

Day 5 was to be different to the other days in that we decided to split into Team Boy and Team Girl and go to different places. It was a plan made in heaven and sprinkled with happy dust as far as I was concerned.

Team Boy were destined for Bere (a small place just over the border in Devon), more specifically the delights of Pecorama which consists of a model railway exhibition plus excellent Boyish miniature steam train running through landscaped gardens.

Team Girl would be dropped off en route to Bere to carry out Girlish pursuits, more specifically the delights of Lyme Regis which consists of shops, galleries and cafés all with sea views and feel-good.

I wrote about my love affair with Lyme Regis a couple years ago, and my fondness has even grown since then I think. I really, really (like r-e-e-e-e-e-a-l-l-y) love Lyme Regis. A lot. A very lot. It pleases me on so many levels, ticks so many of my happy boxes, that it never ever fails to deliver huge dollops of pleasure. Simply pootling round the streets is heaven, they're so damn pretty and full of charm!

And the possibilities it holds for Retail Therapy is just wonderful. There are some truly unique and beautiful little shops and galleries, full to bursting with unique and beautiful objects. The Coombe Street Gallery was the very first shop we went into, and it was such a treat. Little Lady is a fantastic shopping companion I have to say, we had great fun looking at things together, chatting and exclaiming over so many delightful finds.

I love how gorgeous the shop fronts are in Lyme, it makes the whole town look incredible. So much style and colour everywhere you look.

This was the window display in one of my favourite shops, Ruby Rockcake. Wow, I really felt at home in here. It was full of an amazing selection of retro styled products, quite a bit more funky and colourful than your average vintage shop. I first read about Ruby Rockcake on a lovely blog called JellyJam, you can read the post here and see more beautiful pics of the shop's interior. Caroline...if you are reading this, I ADORED your shop, and will definitely be back again, most probably to try and move in.

After all this retail excitement and a lovely spot of coffee'n'cake, we headed up to the top of town to go find my good friend M. She was finishing up a spot of work in her beautiful studio (she's a knitwear designer), located down this really incredible, pretty little back street.

Isn't this just the most picturesque little street?

Pretty cottages and gorgeous gardens......

....and views out over the rooftops. It was all so yummy, a real feast for the eyes.

After a lovely, chatty lunch at a place called Pasty Presto (delicious), we wandered down to the seafront to rendezvous with Team Boy who had finished doing train things. By all accounts they had a fabulous time and were ready to join us in a bit of seaside pootling and icecream eating.

It was unusually quiet down at the beach, but then the weather was quite stormy with frequent short bursts of rain, so not exactly beachy weather really.

But it was as lovely as ever, and we enjoyed a leisurely stroll along the seafront and round the wall of the Cobb.

You can just see the end part of the old Cobb wall to the right there...go and have a peek at this beautiful aerial view and you'll get a great impression of how the cobb walls form the sheltered harbour.

More boaty loveliness, I can never get enough of Boaty Views.

It really was gorgeous on this afternoon. Not perfect weather (we kept getting wet) but still a beautiful day to be beside the sea.

Now after all that sublime coastal scenery, I'm going to leave day 5 with a heap of seaside plastic. What fun this shop display was! I was thrilled to see a huge giant version of my own backyard windmills, and I wish you could've heard Little B's excited exclamations over it too, so sweet.

:: DAY 6 ::

Weather report ~ warm and lovely, blue skies, fluffy clouds and sunshine.

Day 6, our last day. We weren't going to leave till 5pm or thereabouts so we had most of the day to say goodbye to everyone and everything. The day started early with Little B waking just after 5am, so I left him snuggling in bed with J and came downstairs for a little early morning quiet time. I love to crochet in the early mornings whilst on holiday, the light is golden and the sweet sound of bird song fills my ears. I sit in the old chair beside the patio doors with them open just a smidge..enough to let in the sound of the birds and the scent of still wet grass and earth.

I took the May issue of Country Living magazine with me to read whilst on hols, wowsers, what delight in those pages! I loved the decorating spread based on "Retro Revival, and it struck me how similar my current yarn selection is. The teal blue with the mustardy yellow, the slightly purplish grey tones with the orangey pink thrown in.

There was reference made to some Fired Earth paint colours (their mid-century collection), and yes, I can see that I have kind of fallen into this palette by accident. I am just missing a good deep burnt orange and a slightly mucky olivey green.

Actually, I went to pay a visit to Bridports new wool shop on day 6 (what a gorgeous experience that was! See some pics of it here, it's a slice of pure yarny heaven)...and picked up two extra colours of the Rico Merino to try and fill the orange/green gap. Not quite sure about them yet but we'll see (for reference, I added in orange colour 73, and khaki colour 46, although they won't be in my cushion)

After breakfast, we decided to go and have a short farewell trip to the sea and there followed a short, sharp debate over which bit of sea we should visit. Burton? Eype? West Bay? I'm happy to say that my choice won out, and back to West Bay we went. It was the most beeeeeeautiful morning, warm and sunny with the wind finally down to a mere light breeze.

It was only just after 9am when we arrived, we parked the car right on the promenade (my idea, as there is an amazing coffee place right there where I knew I could get me a carry-out to accompany my beach session). 

The Little People each had a spade and went off to the small patch of sand to dig, dig, dig (you can just see them in the above pic). I sat my bottom on the warm steps that lead down from the promenade to the beach and indulged all my senses. The taste of hot milky coffee, the feel of the smooth stones in my fingers, the sight of the blue-meets-blue horizon, the sound of seagulls and waves rolling into shore, the scent of fresh coffee intermingled with salty seaweed.

I looked up, down, and all around. All was beautiful and content in my world. Happiness washed over me.

I watched my Little Boy (see him above there?) toddling about with his blue spade, picking up pebbles, collecting things, throwing things, so happy in his own sweet world. And I thought for the umpteenth time...WOW. I have THREE children. Not two, but THrEe of these incredible little things. It appears I am still astounded by this fact, still amazed that we have become a family of five. I wonder, will this amazement ever evaporate?

I tell you, I so did not want to leave that beach, I felt like my very soul had taken root in the shingle. My feet did not want to walk away. But......we had packing to do, a family lunch to be present at, dear loved ones to bid farewell to. And then a long 300 mile journey to make home.

On Sunday morning back here in Yorkshire, the weather was bright and sunny and we set out early to go and walk along the riverside. I put on my fleece to keep the chill off, and when I put my hands in my pockets I pulled out a small handful of collected beach treasures. Souvenirs from a fabulous holiday beside the sea.

Not the only treasures to come home with me mind you, I wasn't just idling about window shopping in Lyme Regis, no no no! I had been saving up my pocket money specifically for this trip so I had a wee bit of spending money at my disposal. Would you like to see my New Sweet Things?

There you go....a collection of spoons and egg cups and mushrooms and postcards and cake sprinkles and wooden arty objects. Yum yum yum!

The teeny wooden mushrooms and the cute mushroom nightlight came from Ruby Rockcake.

The melamine spoons are Rice DK (similar here)

I bought the adorable little egg cups from Fuego, but you can buy them online here.

Ahhhh I LOVE these postcards! I spotted them at a newsagent in West Bay and couldn't resist them, they are illustrations by the talented Martin Wiscombe.

I bought this lovely, lovely little wooden boat from the Coombe Street Gallery in Lyme Regis, it nearly broke my heart with it's cuteness. It's a simple piece of automata and when you wind the little handle, the boat rocks up and down......isn't it lovely?!

When I went for lunch in Lyme, I got this sweet boat out to show M. But I found that all the while I was showing it, I was actually thinking and talking about a larger piece that I'd seen but hadn't been sure about buying at the time as it was a good chunk of my spending money. However, the more I thought about it, the more I just knew in my heart that I should go straight back to the gallery and buy it. I could already feel that I would totally regret not having it in the Attic, I was already longing for it, does that make sense?

And this is the piece I went back for. It really is beautiful, soooooo beautiful. It's another piece of automata ~ winding the handle makes the little painted metal seagulls fly up and down. It's so totally in the spirit of Lyme Regis (the rows of coloured painted houses, the ever present seagulls, the white fluffy clouds) that my heart soars when I look at it. I've written the date I bought it on the underside, and I shall treasure it and love it forever, I know I will.

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Edit to add :: after some research I've found out that the sweet wooden automata are made by a British company called Shoeless Joe. They describe themselves as a "wholesale gift company" who design their products in the UK but have them made in other parts of the world. These wooden pieces have such a delightful handmade quality, and were very reasonably priced, but sadly they aren't available to buy online anywhere as they are wholesale only. Not sure if this is of any help whatsoever, but hey, you did ask!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Kristen]

Ooooh, what a gorgeous post. Beautiful streets and shopfronts and I'm crazy about the automatons (is that the right word?); they seem quite magical. You've made me long for a seaside vacation of my own now.

I'm also pretty much head over heels about your new color palette. I think a bit of something muddy is like salt in the soup. :)

[Fleur Cotton]

Oh Lucy what great buys! GO TEAM GIRL GO!!!

Lovin those little egg cups but the cottages by the sea are absolutely delightful...where will you put it?? (It reminds me of a pastel seaside version of your Attic 24 banner.)

Fleur xx

[Kate]

Lucy Does Dorset so well! Have loved your posts this week, thanks for sharing x

[thriftwood]

Absolutely love the little row of houses and seagulls ... you are giving your family lots of lovely memories xx

[Maggie]

What a lovely time you've had. I love Lyme Regis too. Browsing the shops and walking along the cobb. Also wasn't it where they filmed The French Lieutenant's Woman with Meryl Streep? One of my favourite films :) Maggie xx

http://prettyflowersinthewindow.blogspot.co.uk/

[Patti in Pa]

love your little "treasures" you purchased!
such great memories for you & your family!
I love, love, your blog!
Have a great day!

[krista - Poppyprint]

I have loved each and every one of your holiday posts. One day I will visit the English seaside. I will!

[Vickie]

Oh yeay, lovely pictures of Lyme! I both live and work in Lyme so get to see this loveliness every day but I really enjoy seeing it through someone else's eyes. I should have hung my happy flower decoration in my office window as a hello! Vickie x

[Lynn Dudley-Taylor]

I have always loved the seaside plastic displays!! Brings back fond memories of family holidays to Selsey, simply lovely!! Thank you for the reminder. Lxx

[Rachel Thurlby]

Thank you - it's POURING with rain here, my 4 year old is pushing her luck and I have all-day morning sickness... but yay to your blog! I have a feeling I will be reading this again and again as I count the days off to our holiday in Lyme! Love the ochre-y colours added to your pallette as well x

[angela-southern USA]

LOve it,love it all!The little sea side village is SO YOU :)Hooky is looking nice too.What are the little tiny mushrooms?It all makes me want to visit England so much!Have a good one.

[Steph]

Wow Lucy what another amazing post - I can hardly wait the five weeks until we're there too!

More than anything I am dreaming of some retail pootling around Lyme Regis because we never even got out of the car last time we were there (and I've made a careful note of all those lovely beachy cafes you've mentioned too!)

Better get saving pronto! Thanks so much for sharing all these beautiful memories.
Take care
Stephxx

[Erin Adkins]

Lucy I have really enjoyed reading about your seaside vacation! I long to travel out of the US and see many other countries. Thank you for sharing your life with us!

[Mrs Jones]

Fab. I feel like I've been on holiday now which is marvellous because I haven't been on holiday anywhere for about 5 years and it doesn't look like we'll be having a holiday this year either (thanks, husband-working-on-a-contract-that-never-seems-to-end), so if you don't mind, I'll just go on vicarious holiday with your lot instead!

[Nikki Relffe-Arnold]

Lucy I have loved, loved, loved your holiday "serial" over the last three days...I could almost smell the sea whilst reading your posts. It never ceases to amaze me that you and your family are of that rare breed of people who spend happy holiday days doing simple things together and enjoying every moment and I thinks it's absolutely lovely. Your love of the sea comes across so strongly and I for one won't ever be surprised if you suddenly blog that you are all moving to Lyme Regis such is the love you have for it obvious in your posts. So glad you had a wonderful family rich week :-) Nikki

[Akhila]

I enjoyed your post hun. Looks like you all had fun. Love the shops in the pastel colors..

[Ellie]

Lucy, the pictures are fantastic! It really is one of my favouite places. I told Caroline to watch out for her lovely shop appearing on here. Your photo of it is much better than my last one I took in the dark!!
Thanks for the mention too.
Ellie
x

[Fiona Tomlinson]

Lucy I have enjoyed this years holiday posts more than anything you have posted before, you totally enjoy what I enjoy being beside the sea, oh happy days indeed !!
Hugs Fee xxx

[Sarah]

I love Lyme Regis too especially as the shops are so unique and there always seems to be something new that has opened every-time we visit. I discovered Eclipse sometime ago and haven't tried the Watchhouse as every-time I am drawn back to Eclipse their hot chocolate is something else they have a huge machine fill of melted chocolate.
I'm sorry glad I live in Dorset and don't have to leave.
Sarah

[Mary]

Could have sworn you would have purchased that little caravan pillow in Ruby's window. However, you made some lovely purchases. Thanks for sharing your visit.

[Tangled Sweetpea]

Oh we love love love Lyme! And Ginger Beer is one of my favourite shops there! Your photos are beautiful and brought back so many wonderful memories of our trip there!
Victoria xx

[LoriAngela]

Wonderful. In Canada our children play on the beach with "shovel and pail" instead of "bucket and spade". Is St.Catherine the patron saint of those who spin, as well?

[Skipi]

Definitely I need to book a ticket to go there

[Bimbi]

This really has inspired me to go to Dorset. Looove the yellow house!
Thanks for sharing.
Bimbi x

[E]

I love how Attic24 readers have brought down the Pasty Pestro website! Bandwidth limit exceeded!